Delhi to Dublin: my first impressions of Ireland

Growing up in a middle-class setup in India in the 90s when India was still struggling to liberalize, it was unheard of living or even travelling abroad. We all grew up learning that there is no country better than India. My first trip to the developed world was when I was 28 years old, and a dream was born. I had gone to London where I have extended family. Instead of being a complete tourist, I was living at a home and doing daily chores which gave me a taste of life here. I instantly fell in love with this part of the world. It had better infrastructure, less crowded, more social and of course much more beautiful. The dream was to live a complete life. I travelled a lot after that, almost every year and felt more and more strongly about it. I then got married in 2012 and few years later had twins. This dream looked all but over. After all, settling in would be that much harder as against when I was a bachelor. So, when my wife got an opportunity to move to Ireland, ‘I’ grabbed it with both hands. Having been to UK earlier, there was some familiarity when we actually moved here. And in these 5 months, we have been trying to complete the puzzle. We found a house, kids started school, got a job. While there are pieces still to be completed like getting a license, car and maybe own a house, you could say we are nearly there. So when I decided to write this, I thought maybe it’s too early to write about my experiences here. But I guess it’s not too early to write about my ‘first impressions’ of Ireland.

So, what is my verdict? Well, Irish are extremely warm and have welcomed and accepted us with open arms. They are extremely courteous and its normal for people to smile and greet each other when walking by. Everybody is happy to help those in need of any assistance. And boy are they honest… The handyman tells you to always ask for a quote before you hire anybody and the lady at the till at the supermarket tells you to buy certain products from some other place because it would be cheaper there.

 Then there was this whole job hunt. I was moving after handling a senior role in India and knew it might take some time to find a role which is right for me. But within a month of starting the process, I was, on an average, giving interviews twice a week. With the number of conversations that I was having, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would land a job. The people I met were always very courteous and encouraging. I was getting nearly 3 times the opportunities I was getting in India. The best part of it all, companies were more interested in knowing if I understood what the job required than about my years of experience, previous industry that I worked in or even the educational degree that I held. And while it took me nearly 4 months to get a job matching my profile, I know for a fact that it would be difficult to get a similar role in India.

 Office culture is another thing different here. At MNCs, work is not a place but an activity. Hence, work from home or flexible hours is the norm. But unlike in India, people who do come, work and leave. There are no frequent coffee breaks, long lunch breaks or even drinking at ‘ahataas’ in the evening. In general, due to the family-oriented society, there is not much time spent with office colleagues and hence the camaraderie is amiss. But the other aspect to that is you spend a lot of time with your family. I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to spend so much time in the first 4 months we were here with the kids, especially at this cute age of 3. And now even when I’m working, the evenings and the weekend is quality time spent doing things together.

 One of the major reasons for me wanting to move to the west is how well they have preserved natural beauty. Even the Dublin city center has a clean river flowing through(clean is the adjective I have used because we have the Yamuna flowing through Delhi), parts of it has the cobbled streets, beautiful parks and a lot of old world charm. Park culture is a very prominent part in the European life. You spend a lot of time on sunny days in farmer markets, barbecuing or just generally chilling. And of course, each park is very child friendly. So enough swings, slides and sand pits to keep them busy. And if the child in you in not too old, then maybe to keep you engaged too. But the real beauty of the country starts as you move even half an hour away from the center. There are the nice beaches, the lakes in the middle of nowhere and beautiful trails through hills. Wicklow, the county that I live in is remarkably beautiful with some the most picturesque places in Ireland. I guess the only unfortunate part of all this is that the though the beaches are clean & beautiful, the sea is too cold to venture into. But that doesn’t stop a lot of people to take a dip, some even every day. And that is exactly how you need to face the weather here, take it head on. Because if you complain about it, you will never get used to it. The winters are cold, maybe as cold as Delhi, but obviously last 2-3 times longer. But what really is a bitch is the wind and at times how wet it can get. This makes the ‘feels like’ much colder than it is.

 It is also a cultural shift for a lot of people since you have to do things without any kind of help. You have to cook, wash dishes and clothes, clean up the house, do groceries, etc. And while specific electrical, plumbing and carpenting tasks are outsourced, they are so expensive that you end up doing the easy ones on your own. But a lot of things are made easy. For one, there is a lot of good quality of semi or fully cooked food options available. Then there are gadgets like dishwashers and convenient vacuum cleaners that make your life easy. Finally, there are so many interesting things that make your chores undemanding like easy dirt removal liquids, wall fillers, storage options, etc. These unique things allow you to maintain your house or even build. Ikea furniture is a great example of how simple it is to make your beds, couches, cupboards, etc. But still, a lot of this requires manual work. So, if you abhor doing chores, then living here might not be your thing. Though if you can afford it, you can hire help for everything including for cleaning. The non-specialized jobs can actually cost negligible, especially with students wanting to make a quick buck.

Then there is the whole thing around driving. Rules in Ireland allow you to drive your car with a valid Indian driving license, but only for a year. I have to hence, get a license as well. But having driven in India for nearly 18 years combined with the fact that they drive on the same side of the road as in India, there was not much to learn….except to control my instincts. I had to learn to be patient and give other traffic right of way unlike in India where roads are more like wrestling rings. Every person just moves and the onus lies on the other drivers to save themselves.

 And it is not to say that the country doesn’t have its own set of idiosyncrasies. For instance, just to get broadband, it took nearly 4 weeks. The cable had to be bought to my house and an electric pole was in between. So only the electricity department was allowed to move them. While this delayed things, atleast there was a process and wires don’t hang around haphazardly.

 Also, there is the issue of over taxation. While I was paying tax @ 33% in India, it is over 40% in Ireland. And while there is a lot of indirect taxes in India which make things costly, there are similar absurd taxes in Ireland, foremost amongst them is TV tax which means If you own a TV, you need to pay nearly 150 Euros every year. But having lived in south Delhi, I would say most things seem at par. Groceries for your home are cheaper if you buy from large departmental stores, eating and drinking out is similar especially with the high GST & service charge in India. I guess the 2 things which are expensive in Dublin are public transport and house rent. The latter is probably the most expensive in whole of Europe due to the housing shortage in Dublin. But for all that you pay here, Ireland has got one thing right. Its investing in its future by making education and healthcare free for children.

 And then there is the issue of racism which a lot of Indians are vary of. Well I can say I have faced none at all till now. And while I do hear of cases now and then, it is more a case of few bad apples and certain pockets in the city. But most people in Ireland and definitely all educated ones will never give you a racist vibe. But considering how we treat minorities in our country, we can’t complain. After all what goes around, comes around.

 All these are like I said my very first experiences and thoughts of living here. They say ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’. And Ireland, you beauty, you have left a lasting first impression.